Head of Machine Learning

Mach9; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Mach9 is seeking a Head of Machine Learning to build and grow the ML organization that turns our rich LiDAR and image data into automated CAD deliverables for surveying and design. This is a hands‑on leadership role: set the technical vision, mentor a team of ML engineers and researchers, and own the throughline from research to shipped product capabilities.

This role is ideal for experienced engineers, team leads, and managers who want to push the frontier of 3D computer vision and perception,

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years in machine learning with production ML experience.
• Proven track record leading ML teams and mentoring researchers.
• Deep ML and computer vision expertise; ability to set technical direction.
• Ability to develop and execute technical roadmaps.
• Excellent cross-functional communication between research and engineering.
• Proficiency with Python and PyTorch; comfortable engaging deeply with technical work.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive a coherent vision for how Mach9 can leverage our data advantage to build the best automation products across surveying and design.
• Translate vision into a technical roadmap, execute strongly, and bring products to the next level; identify challenges worth solving and ship them.
• Build and grow the ML team: hiring, onboarding, structuring the team as it scales, and shaping the split between research and engineering.
• Mentor ML engineers and researchers, providing technical direction and career growth guidance.
• Stay hands-on: review designs and code and weigh in on architecture and modeling decisions.
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to align Mach9’s research investments with product strategy and customer needs.

Skills

Team leadership

ML team mentoring

Roadmap development

Communication across teams

Python

PyTorch

Computer vision

Tools

Python

PyTorch

Job description

At Mach9, we're building AI to turn dense LiDAR and image data into design-grade CAD deliverables for civil engineering and surveying. We have one of the richest survey-grade datasets in the world. Our product, Digital Surveyor, automates work that takes surveyors and engineers weeks of manual effort.

The Role

We're looking for a Head of Machine Learning to build and grow the organization that turns our data into the automated products of the future in surveying and design. This is a hands‑on leadership role: you'll set the technical vision for our strategy, mentor and grow a team of ML engineers and researchers, and own the throughline from hard research problems to shipped product capabilities.

This role is ideal for experienced engineers, team leads, and managers who want to push the frontier of 3D computer vision and perception. You’ll have the opportunity to solve problems that few other teams have the data or the talent to take on. We need you to bring a strong vision of what’s possible with our unique dataset, and then to build a team around you to accomplish that vision.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive a coherent vision for how Mach9 can leverage our data advantage to build the best automation products across surveying and design.
• Translate your vision into a technical roadmap, execute strongly, and bring our products to the next level. You’ll need to identify which challenges are worth solving, and then which models are ready to ship.
• Build and grow our ML team: hiring, onboarding, structuring the team as it scales, and shaping the split between research and engineering as our organization matures.
• Mentor ML engineers and researchers, providing technical direction, career growth, and guidance to raise the level of the whole team.
• Stay technically hands‑on: review designs and code and weigh in on architecture and modeling decisions, so that you stay credible and connected to the team and problems.
• Partner with product and engineering leadership to align Mach9’s investment into research with our product strategy and customer needs.

You Have:

• Experience leading and growing teams, specifically hiring and mentoring ML engineers and researchers.
• 5+ years of work experience in machine learning, with a track record of shipping ML models or systems to production.
• Strong technical depth in machine learning and computer vision, and an ability to set technical direction and to earn the trust of a strong technical team.
• Ability to develop technical roadmaps and execute on them.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to operate across research and engineering.
• Proficient with Python and PyTorch. You must be comfortable engaging deeply with our technical work.

Nice to Have

• Background in machine learning for 3D perception — point cloud understanding, 3D detection/segmentation, geometric deep learning, or related areas.
• Experience with CAD AI, design automation, or applying ML to generate structured/geometric output, rather than just classification or detection.
• Experience scaling an ML organization through a growth phase — defining team structure and hiring strategy.
• Background in domains that work with similar data to Mach9 — remote sensing, geomatics, autonomous driving, or robotics.
• Experience leveraging large unstructured datasets, especially reality‑capture datasets, to build data‑driven products and flywheels.